Typhoon Fully Serviced

Through our Typhoon Availability Service (TAS) team we have completed the first ever ‘full service’ on a Royal Air Force Typhoon aircraft

The maintenance work was carried out by the joint BAE Systems and RAF TAS team, based at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.

The servicing includes a programme of repair, modification, complete strip and repaint, inspection and flight testing.

The aircraft, ZJ921, has now been returned to 3 Squadron and is once again ready for operational use.

Known in the business as a ‘major maintenance programme’ this work is carried out every 1600 flying hours. Just like cars, aircraft require maintenance or servicing, as most people will refer to it, after they have flown a set amount of hours.

The first set of maintenance work known as a ‘primary maintenance’ is undertaken once the Typhoon aircraft has flown 400 hours, followed by a ‘minor maintenance’ which is carried out every 800 flying hours. Work continues in the Typhoon Maintenance Facility with a further 3 Typhoon aircraft in the facility undergoing major maintenance.

TAS is the long term partnering arrangement between BAE Systems and the UK MOD to deliver a support solution for the Typhoon. Whereby the team ensure the Typhoon fleet is always available for flying and that the aircraft timetable remains on schedule, whilst reducing the through-life costs of the support programme.

Recent success of the TAS contract was highlighted through the Op Ellamy operation in Libya. Within 60 hours of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 being passed, the RAF had deployed Typhoon aircraft to help implement the no-fly zone and carry out missions over Libya.

Group Captain Simon Ellard, of the Fast Air Support Team, Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) said: “TAS takes yet another step forward with the delivery of the first aircraft to have completed a major maintenance. A great deal of joint RAF/DE&S and BAE Systems planning and preparation went into this and I know that the timely roll-out is the result of considerable effort and a strong culture of constantly improving effectiveness and efficiency.”